Nando’s to buy burger chain for £30m September 17, 2010 The UK arm of chicken restaurant chain Nando’s has confirmed that it has agreed a £30m deal to buy a rival firm. It plans to take over Clapham House Group, the company behind Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) and The Real Greek. Nando’s said that Clapham’s brands were struggling in the volatile market and needed its [...]
The crunch has made foreign dream homes far more affordable September 30, 2010 TOUGH economic times have opened the door for a new generation of property investment. Tumbling prices in both the UK and abroad have actually made this investment option more accessible than it was prior to the credit crunch. Nick Clark, managing director of the Property Investment Show, says: “House prices in England and Wales suffered [...]
Gifts with a sense of history November 22, 2010 IT’S no coincidence that the recession has overlapped with a surge in the popularity of all things old fashioned. If our confidence in a bold, sparkling future has faltered, our interest in the aesthetics of the past – and the values of quality, provenance and craftsmanship that go with it – has rocketed upwards. 1940s-themed [...]
Strong GDP growth dashes chances of further QE October 26, 2010 THE UK’s unexpectedly strong growth last quarter will mean the Bank of England will keep the presses off and delay any restart to quantitative easing (QE), according to City economists. Preliminary growth figures released yesterday showed that the economy smashed consensus forecasts of 0.4 per cent to surge 0.8 per cent from July to September. [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: HOW CONFIDENT DO YOU THINK UK HOUSEHOLDS ARE? September 26, 2010 HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “With the latest evidence pointing to a significant moderation in growth in the third quarter, we suspect that consumers may have become gloomier again about the economic outlook and how they might be affected. In particular, consumers remain worried over the fiscal squeeze that will increasingly bite.” ALAN CLARKE [...]
Defective directive October 26, 2010 As controversial EU rules on alternative funds were finally agreed in Brussels yesterday, fears are mounting that they will cripple the private equity industry THE private equity industry yesterday railed against an EU directive which will subject alternative investment funds to draconian new rules. While the compromise deal won’t be as bad for hedge funds [...]
Caribbean Travel March 21, 2011 Jamaica BEST BEACH Jamaica is one of the few Caribbean islands that is blessed by being totally surrounded by the warm Caribbean sea. That said, the choice of beaches is unending and in Montego Bay, one of the best to experience is the Doctors cave Beach. Celebrating over 100 years as a bathing beach, it [...]
The housebuilding chief executive who can see clear blue skies ahead September 26, 2010 FOR A MAN who took over a housebuilder in the middle of a devastating financial and property crisis, David Ritchie, the chief executive of Bovis Homes, looks remarkably relaxed. But it is certainly fair to say the pain has eased in recent months for the firm, even though Ritchie remains in the middle of turning [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ABU DHABI MOVES TO SECURE FOOD SUPPLY Abu Dhabi is to make a bold foray into commodities with the establishment of a government-owned trading house aimed at securing food supplies for the import-dependent nation and capturing profit margins in metals and agriculture trading. People familiar with the plans say the company, which is [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ABU DHABI MOVES TO SECURE FOOD SUPPLY Abu Dhabi is to make a bold foray into commodities with the establishment of a government-owned trading house aimed at securing food supplies for the import-dependent nation and capturing profit margins in metals and agriculture trading. People familiar with the plans say the company, which is [...]